Monster putting caffeine content on its labels

Friday

Feb 15, 2013 at 12:45 PM

A mother's fight inspired by her daughter's death has yielded results - Wendy Crossland, the mother of deceased teenager Anais Fournier, said she is excited to learn Monster Energy will be changing its labels to list the caffeine content in its drinks.

Denise Bonura/The Record Herald

A mother's fight inspired by her daughter's death has yielded results.

Wendy Crossland of Hagerstown said she was excited Thursday when she learned Monster Energy will be changing its labels to list the caffeine content in its drinks.

Teen's death

Crossland's 14-year-old daughter, Anais Fournier, went into cardiac arrest in December 2011 while watching a movie at home. She drank two 24-ounce Monster Energy drinks in a 24-hour span, which triggered a cardiac arrhythmia "due to caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation in the setting of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome," according to her death certificate and court records.

Anais never regained consciousness and was pronounced brain dead six days later.

Crossland has since pushed for the FDA to regulate the drinks that are targeted toward teenagers and young adults. She continues to lobby with legislators who propose banning the drinks for minors, and will continue the fight.

"I was so excited when I saw this," Crossland said Thursday. "I have been working to get them regulated and banned for minors. I felt I had finally accomplished something. I know Anais is proud of me, and helping every step of the way."

Changing labels

According to CBS News, Monster's CEO Rodney Sacks told industry tracker Beverage Digest the cans will now list "Nutrition Facts," instead of "Supplement Facts" that currently appear on the cans.

"The move requires different labeling rules under the Food and Drug Administration guidelines, including the notable addition of the drink's caffeine content," the CBS News report said.

Since Monster is currently classified as a dietary supplement, its makers have more flexible labeling guidelines.

Monster Energy contains caffeine, along with other ingredients like taurine and guarana, a plant extract that also contains caffeine.

The CBS News report said a spokesman with Monster Beverage could not confirm if the company will "remove any ingredients as a result of any possible labeling changes."

It also said the FDA is still finalizing the line between beverages and dietary supplements, but the agency noted in 2009 that products "that use terms such as 'drink,' 'juice,' and 'beverage,' suggest they're conventional foods rather than supplements."

Effects of caffeine

Crossland and her ex-husband, Richard Fournier of Hagerstown, Anais' father, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company through Goldberg, Finnegan & Mester LLC of Silver Spring, Md., and additional counsel with R. Rex Parris Law Firm in Lancaster, Calif., and Miles & Stockbridge P.C. in Baltimore.

It alleges Monster Energy has continued to conceal the exact amounts of caffeine contained in its drinks. It also alleges the company has failed to test its products for effects of the cardiovascular system, has purposely designed its product for teen and young adult consumers and has failed to alert consumers of the serious health risks the drinks can cause, especially if consumed by someone with an underlying heart condition.

The lawsuit states the two cans of Monster Anais drank contained 480-milligrams of caffeine — the equivalent of fourteen 12-ounce cans of soda. It also references several medical journal articles and studies that outline the adverse affects of consuming large amounts of caffeine.

One study in Pediatrics, a medical journal, says, "Caffeine can be lethal in doses ranging from 200 to 400 milligrams."

"According to the Center for Food Safety Adverse Event Reporting System at the FDA, there have been six deaths and 15 hospitalizations reported associated with Monster Energy Drink since 2009," a news release from Crossland's attorney Kevin Goldberg says. "According to a November 2011 report by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there has been a tenfold increase in emergency department visits associated with energy drinks between 2004 and 2009, totaling more than 16,000 visits in 2008, and sales have increased 240 percent during the same period."

Legal action

Crossland said she could not comment on the lawsuit's progress, but added a hearing will likely be held in the spring or early summer. She said previously she did not file the lawsuit for the money, but wanted to draw national attention to the dangers of the drinks.

"These drinks are death traps for young, developing girls and boys, like my daughter, Anais," she said in Goldberg's news release.

"Nothing will replace the love and vitality of Anais," she continued. "I just want Monster Energy to know their product can kill."

A spokesman for Monster told The Baltimore Sun in October the company plans to fight the allegations, and does not believe the products were responsible for Anais' death. The spokesman also said the company has never heard of anyone dying from their products, and the company does not wish to comment further because of the lawsuit.

In October, The FDA investigated at least five deaths and one heart attack linked to Monster Energy drinks dating back to 2004, the CBS News report states. It has also begun an investigation on 5-Hour Energy, another popular energy drink linked to numerous hospitalizations and 13 deaths.

Continued fight

Crossland said she isn't stopping there. She is still hoping the drinks will be banned for minors.

She has shared Anais' story on NBC's "Today Show," and CBS's "Anderson Live," with Anderson Cooper, along with son, Dorian, Anais' twin, and daughter, Jade.

Crossland is traveling to Chicago in March to testify in favor of Alderman Edward Burke's proposal to ban the sale and distribution of the drinks in the city.

"I am also in touch with legislators in Suffolk County, Long Island, N.Y. They are proposing similar legislation on energy drinks. I research quite often to see if there are any proposed bans, then I call them directly and offer my assistance," Crossland said. "I just learned about a proposal in the beginning stages in Washington state, I emailed all four of the representatives and have offered my help."

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